Tiffany Bloomquist (AWS)
NZX-listed energy company Mercury has inked a green power purchase agreement with Amazon to support its Auckland data centres from launch.
Amazon will purchase around half the real time output Mercury’s 103 megawatt Turitea South wind farm for an agreed price.
A power purchase agreement is an electricity supply contract in which a price is agreed for a period of supply, avoiding the volatility of the wholesale energy market.
Mercury said it had a strong pipeline of renewable development, but having a guaranteed consumer buying a significant amount of Turitea South’s generation meant it remained well positioned to continue developing renewable projects "at pace".
“In addition to shifting the dial on decarbonisation at home with the development of the Turitea wind farm, this agreement means we’re also supporting a major global company with their decarbonisation goals,” said Vince Hawksworth, chief executive of Mercury NZ.
“We’re committed to delivering on our strong pipeline of new renewable generation and arrangements like this will help us get there faster."
Tiffany Bloomquist, country manager for commercial operations at AWS New Zealand, said Amazon’s first NZ renewable energy project would power the company's Auckland data center region from launch and support the development of additional renewable energy.
AWS' new Auckland cloud data centres are expected to be commissioned in 2024.
